Ancia was an ungrateful daughter. She was favored by the Emperor, but could not bother to share her fortune with her family. Had Ancia been a little more thoughtful, she would’ve said some good words on behalf of Gilbert to the Emperor and passed on a lot of good information to him.

If she knew some information that would be good for business, she could pass it on to Gilbert in advance and make her family prosperous. But Ancia had no intentions of doing that.

Ancia received such wondrous gifts every day, but she didn’t even send gold to the Bellacians, her family. If it were Diana, she wouldn’t have done this. As soon as the situation got better, that good girl would have taken care of her father and the family first.

However, Gilbert could not send his precious Diana to become a monster’s bride. Gilbert was furious when he thought of Ancia. Then, the servant of Duke Cassil approached him.

“Your Excellency, Count Bellacian, I invite you to meet with the Duke of Cassil.”

***

The Duke of Cassil greeted Gilbert when he entered the reception area.

“Long time no see, Count Bellacian.”

Arnold had always been indifferent to Gilbert at parties. Since Gilbert had no land or property, Arnold Cassil had judged him as someone not worth mixing with.

But ever since gossip about the Emperor and Ancia began to circulate, Gilbert could now go about arrogantly with his head raised.

“Your Highness, long time no see.”

Naturally, Arnold Cassil frowned at Gilbert’s irreverent attitude.

Gilbert Bellacian was known for his terrible attitude. He was an evil man who crawled up endlessly and became servile when ignored.

“You’ve been blessed with so much fortune these days.”

“Yes. Well, it’s natural for a child to share their fortune with their parents.”

Gilbert bluffed. But it wasn’t a lie. Ancia did wish to be loved by Gilbert.

However, his pride would be hurt if they knew the truth.

“Does she listen to you?”

“Of course, she listens to whatever I say.”

Gilbert raised his head confidently.

“It’s rare to find such a well-educated kid these days. Is your second daughter as good as her sister?”

“Of course, Ancia is no match for Diana. Diana is my pride.”

Gilbert was furious when his beloved Diana was compared to Ancia.

“If she’s such an outstanding child, then I’d like to welcome her as my daughter-in-law.”

“M-my Diana?”

Gilbert’s eyes widened.

Right now, Ancia was only the wife of the monstrous Crown Prince. Although she was said to be favored by the Emperor right now, when the Crown Prince died, she’d eventually be kicked out of the Palace.

If Diana became the daughter-in-law of the Duke of Cassil, she could become the Empress in the future.

“Of course, for that to happen, we need to see how well Diana was educated first.”

No matter how dumb Count Bellacian was, he could understand what the Duke meant.

He meant that if the House of Bellacians and Ancia supported the Cassils, they’d make Diana the next empress in return.

Gilbert had nothing to lose.

He could use his useless daughter to make Diana an Empress.

Of course, if Ancia were to support the Duke of Cassil, she would lose the Emperor’s favor and be loathed by him instead.

But that was none of his business.

“I’ve decided.”

Gilbert Bellacian accepted the Duke’s proposal without a moment’s hesitation

***

“Father, I’m sorry. I’m sorry,”

A girl begged. It was my voice, but that wasn’t me. This memory belonged to the real Ancia.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

The little girl kept apologizing to her father as she sobbed. Her swollen cheek hurt, but she didn’t even dare to show it.

However, it really hurt. It really really hurt a lot.

“You’re a disgrace to the family! You’re going to become a monster’s bride, I’m already shuddering at the thought!”

“I’m sorry…”

“If you’re really sorry, then go die right now! Hang yourself or jump into the water right away! Die as soon as possible to maintain the Bellacian family’s dignity!”

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry.”

As the girl bowed repeatedly, a clear voice rang out.

“Ancia, Ancia!”

“Ancia!”

My eyes opened wide. Blake was staring at me, looking worried.

“Your Highness…”

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Nightmare? Right, it was a dream. But it was not an ordinary dream. This was the real Ancia’s memory.

Her memory suddenly appeared in my dream.

Even though I had only dreamed about it, my body trembled as if I had actually experienced it, and my body was soaked with cold sweat.

“Yes, it was a nightmare.”

“What should I do…”

I was the one who had the nightmare, but Blake’s eyes were red instead. I felt like tears were about to fall from my eyes too.

“Because of me…you had a bad dream because you were with me…”

I held him tightly, pulling his body close to mine.

“A-A-An-Ancia!”

Blake struggled in dismay, but I tightened my arms around him even more.

Holding Blake in my arms like this, the sadness and despair I felt because of that dream gradually disappeared.

“Your Highness…”

“Yes?”

“It’s nice to be here with you. Everyday, like this.”

I patted his fluffy hair.

***

Sometimes, I dreamed of Ancia’s memories. The real Ancia had suffered under the Count’s mental and physical abuse.

In the original novel, there were many mentions of Count Bellacian severely discriminating between his daughters. However, there was a difference of heaven and the earth between reading it and experiencing it in person.

Ancia…how much had this child experienced? Just how much despair did she endure before making the choice to jump into the water?

In the original novel, it was said that Ancia was obsessed with appearances so she couldn’t endure Blake’s ugly appearance and committed suicide.

But the more I looked into her memory, the more certain I became that it wasn’t because of Blake’s appearance.

“If you’re really sorry, then go die right now! Hang yourself or jump into the water right away! Die as soon as possible to maintain the Bellacian family’s dignity!”

The man who killed Ancia was her father, Count Bellacian. He didn’t kill her himself, but in a way, it was all thanks to him.

I was still thinking about the original novel and the dream I saw when Melissa came into the room.

“Your Highness, Count Bellacian is here.”

“Count Bellacian?”

These days, he sent me such bothersome letters, and now, he was here to see me.

“What should I do?”

Melissa knew I hated the Count since I had always ignored his letters.

“Take me to the room.”

Frankly, I didn’t want to meet him. But I couldn’t avoid him for the rest of my life either.

Moreover, I was curious about what he had to say.

***

Gilbert was exasperated.

Ancia made him wait for a long time. He decided that next time, he had to re-educate Ancia about the etiquettes of nobles from the beginning.

Of course, Gilbert had never assigned Ancia a teacher of etiquette. As the unwanted child of the family, education was a luxury for her. If she didn’t listen to him, he’d hit her a few times.

Gilbert gritted his teeth and looked at the clock. He had been waiting for 55 minutes already.

He planned to storm into the Crown Princess’ room after an hour passed.

But suddenly, the door opened as Ancia came inside, with a maid and a knight following behind.

“What do you need?”

Before Gilbert could yell at her, Ancia interrupted him.

But…Was that child really “Ancia”?

Ancia was very different from before. She had always been a gloomy child. She’d always cower in front of the Count, dressed in an old, worn-out dress.

But the child in front of him now seemed to be a completely different person.

She was wearing a dress decorated with colorful jewels, elaborate hairpins, and shoes with droplets of diamonds as she looked at him with a pretty yet sophisticated gaze.

Was it because of the clothes? No. That haughty gaze and her imposing gait…everything was different from before.

Above all, her whole demeanour had changed. Ancia didn’t bat an eye despite facing an angry Gilbert. Rather, she interrupted him with confidence.

“Can’t you even greet your father?!”

Gilbert shouted. Although she had changed her clothes and her demeanor was arrogant, Ancia was, afterall, still the same Ancia.

She must’ve become arrogant because the Emperor favored her a little bit. Gilbert wanted to tear down Ancia’s act, but Melissa, the maid, stepped in.

“Please be respectful to Her Highness.”